I bought the bundle of Left 4 Dead 2 and Left 4 Dead. Problem is, Left 4 Dead is PC only and is not supported on the Mac platform. It would have been nice if they told me this BEFORE I finalized the online purchase. When I contacted their support to return L4D, Steam told me that the price NOW for L4D2 is more than the bundle price, so they couldn't refund me for the game I can't play (nor sell or even give to someone else). Not a happy customer.
Though some of the growth in the last year is attributed to the Mac, Apple's hardware represents a relatively small share of the total users on Steam.
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised. The way Portal looked on my Macbook (which I freely admit I didn't buy as a gaming machine) was kinda sobering (not horrible, but also not as shiny as I had hoped), and most of the major releases seem to be Windows-only anyway. The initial rush (Orange Box, Civ 4 Collection at a decent price) was nice, but after that, I just didn't see the appeal beyond a few minor titles (like VVVVVV).
Sure, it's a lot better than NOT having those games, and I presume that it's going to be a lot more awesome with a better setup. But having now seen the Steam selection for Windows, I'm actually just tempted to build a <500 Euro PC for occasional gaming instead of waiting for a few scraps for my Macbook.
Quote:
Originally Posted by F1Turbo
I bought the bundle of Left 4 Dead 2 and Left 4 Dead. Problem is, Left 4 Dead is PC only and is not supported on the Mac platform. It would have been nice if they told me this BEFORE I finalized the online purchase. When I contacted their support to return L4D, Steam told me that the price NOW for L4D2 is more than the bundle price, so they couldn't refund me for the game I can't play (nor sell or even give to someone else). Not a happy customer.
You mean this bundle? The one where it clearly shows the Windows-only icon next to "Left 4 Dead"? And the bundle itself only has the Windows icon in the shopping cart. So unless they drastically changed the way they display bundles, or if you took some drastically different route to buy it, you might need a pair of glasses =P
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised. The way Portal looked on my Macbook (which I freely admit I didn't buy as a gaming machine) was kinda sobering (not horrible, but also not as shiny as I had hoped), and most of the major releases seem to be Windows-only anyway. The initial rush (Orange Box, Civ 4 Collection at a decent price) was nice, but after that, I just didn't see the appeal beyond a few minor titles (like VVVVVV).
Sure, it's a lot better than NOT having those games, and I presume that it's going to be a lot more awesome with a better setup. But having now seen the Steam selection for Windows, I'm actually just tempted to build a <500 Euro PC for occasional gaming instead of waiting for a few scraps for my Macbook.
You mean this bundle? The one where it clearly shows the Windows-only icon next to "Left 4 Dead"? And the bundle itself only has the Windows icon in the shopping cart. So unless they drastically changed the way they display bundles, or if you took some drastically different route to buy it, you might need a pair of glasses =P
Yeah, I wanted to buy some games as well but I ended up with just the free ones I got coupon for when upgrading my graphics card. The collection of Mac games on Steam is . . . . very poor. I wanted Mafia 2 so much but there is no Mac version so far. :-( So until they put decent games for OSX it will be just an online alternative to already available off shelf Mac versions.
Well, I personally have a Macbook Pro, and use bootcamp to play games.
That's basically a Mac with the exact same specs and price as a computer running Windows...
And games in Windows do kick the games' ass on OSX.
Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear on what I was looking for. What I was looking for was a reply to this specific partial quote : PC I have cost £1500 ...... to match that with a mac I would have to blow like £7000 ... that's the part I'm having trouble with. I have no problem with anyone saying that high end games suck on a mac ... altho' that is changing, Mac has never been known to be a gamer computer. What I do see 'tho is that the iPad is fast becoming a very popular gaming device ... not for the high end games so much, but just because it is so portable. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes down in a few years.
You mean this bundle? The one where it clearly shows the Windows-only icon next to "Left 4 Dead"? And the bundle itself only has the Windows icon in the shopping cart. So unless they drastically changed the way they display bundles, or if you took some drastically different route to buy it, you might need a pair of glasses =P[/QUOTE]
1. No. That link takes me to a LOT more than the bundle I bought.
2. Yes, they do drastically change the bundles. That was there excuse for not returning my money. It was a one (possibly 2) day special I got from dealmac.com.
3. Yes, I do wear glasses. Sorry my vision isn't perfect.
If they get Civilization V and Total Annihilation 2, and some other newer games those numbers will probably spike quite a bit!
I'm hoping I won't have to dual boot into Windows for the above two games much longer! Civ V should be within the next couple of weeks. TA2 would be nice if it happened in that same time frame!
For many of us, Macs (native?not Boot Camp) are FAR superior for games. Because games should be fun. And maintaining/securing/updating a Windows PC is the farthest thing from fun to many people. Ditto for building your own computer and thus providing your own service when something fails: an excellent cost-cutting measure, but one that carries a heavy price in time and aggravation.
I don't understand what you mean, I don't spend any time, maintaining/securing/updating my Windows PC, it does it all automatically, it isn't very hard.
Macs are terrible for games, steam is a brilliant example for this, why does the OSX version need specs so much higher than the Windows version? My iMac under Windows plays the steam games fine, under OSX I can't play any of them. Not very fun at all.
And why bother building you own PC, Dell sells PCs which are fine for gaming very cheap, just get one of them.
1. Apple needs to work on their drivers and Mac OS X to optimize it for gaming. That's very obvious when you play the same game on the same machine in Windows and Mac OS X.
2. Apple doesn't offer a Mac that is attractive for gamers. Gamers need a high end graphic cards and those consume power and generate a lot of heat. Now since Apple tries to build very small and slim computers, it is natural that their options for graphic cards are very limited.
That said, I don't think it is that big of a problem. I personally used a PC (C2D 3 GHz, GF 8800 GT) solely for gaming and a MacBook hooked up to a shared 20" display to do everything else. Two months ago I sold both, put in another ?200,- and bought a 21,5" iMac (i3 3,2 GHZ, ATI 5670). The performance is about the same (faster in some games even) and while I can't play Crysis on maximum details, it's enough for 95 % of the games out there.
Comments
My 2010 15" MBP runs Team Fortress 2 fantastically under Windows 7 (60 fps+) but really struggles under OSX (10-20 fps, sometimes dropping further).
Though some of the growth in the last year is attributed to the Mac, Apple's hardware represents a relatively small share of the total users on Steam.
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised. The way Portal looked on my Macbook (which I freely admit I didn't buy as a gaming machine) was kinda sobering (not horrible, but also not as shiny as I had hoped), and most of the major releases seem to be Windows-only anyway. The initial rush (Orange Box, Civ 4 Collection at a decent price) was nice, but after that, I just didn't see the appeal beyond a few minor titles (like VVVVVV).
Sure, it's a lot better than NOT having those games, and I presume that it's going to be a lot more awesome with a better setup. But having now seen the Steam selection for Windows, I'm actually just tempted to build a <500 Euro PC for occasional gaming instead of waiting for a few scraps for my Macbook.
I bought the bundle of Left 4 Dead 2 and Left 4 Dead. Problem is, Left 4 Dead is PC only and is not supported on the Mac platform. It would have been nice if they told me this BEFORE I finalized the online purchase. When I contacted their support to return L4D, Steam told me that the price NOW for L4D2 is more than the bundle price, so they couldn't refund me for the game I can't play (nor sell or even give to someone else). Not a happy customer.
You mean this bundle? The one where it clearly shows the Windows-only icon next to "Left 4 Dead"? And the bundle itself only has the Windows icon in the shopping cart. So unless they drastically changed the way they display bundles, or if you took some drastically different route to buy it, you might need a pair of glasses =P
Personally, I'm not terribly surprised. The way Portal looked on my Macbook (which I freely admit I didn't buy as a gaming machine) was kinda sobering (not horrible, but also not as shiny as I had hoped), and most of the major releases seem to be Windows-only anyway. The initial rush (Orange Box, Civ 4 Collection at a decent price) was nice, but after that, I just didn't see the appeal beyond a few minor titles (like VVVVVV).
Sure, it's a lot better than NOT having those games, and I presume that it's going to be a lot more awesome with a better setup. But having now seen the Steam selection for Windows, I'm actually just tempted to build a <500 Euro PC for occasional gaming instead of waiting for a few scraps for my Macbook.
You mean this bundle? The one where it clearly shows the Windows-only icon next to "Left 4 Dead"? And the bundle itself only has the Windows icon in the shopping cart. So unless they drastically changed the way they display bundles, or if you took some drastically different route to buy it, you might need a pair of glasses =P
Yeah, I wanted to buy some games as well but I ended up with just the free ones I got coupon for when upgrading my graphics card. The collection of Mac games on Steam is . . . . very poor. I wanted Mafia 2 so much but there is no Mac version so far. :-( So until they put decent games for OSX it will be just an online alternative to already available off shelf Mac versions.
Well, I personally have a Macbook Pro, and use bootcamp to play games.
That's basically a Mac with the exact same specs and price as a computer running Windows...
And games in Windows do kick the games' ass on OSX.
Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear on what I was looking for. What I was looking for was a reply to this specific partial quote : PC I have cost £1500 ...... to match that with a mac I would have to blow like £7000 ... that's the part I'm having trouble with. I have no problem with anyone saying that high end games suck on a mac ... altho' that is changing, Mac has never been known to be a gamer computer. What I do see 'tho is that the iPad is fast becoming a very popular gaming device ... not for the high end games so much, but just because it is so portable. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes down in a few years.
1. No. That link takes me to a LOT more than the bundle I bought.
2. Yes, they do drastically change the bundles. That was there excuse for not returning my money. It was a one (possibly 2) day special I got from dealmac.com.
3. Yes, I do wear glasses. Sorry my vision isn't perfect.
4. Do you work for these guys or something?
I'm hoping I won't have to dual boot into Windows for the above two games much longer! Civ V should be within the next couple of weeks. TA2 would be nice if it happened in that same time frame!
For many of us, Macs (native?not Boot Camp) are FAR superior for games. Because games should be fun. And maintaining/securing/updating a Windows PC is the farthest thing from fun to many people. Ditto for building your own computer and thus providing your own service when something fails: an excellent cost-cutting measure, but one that carries a heavy price in time and aggravation.
I don't understand what you mean, I don't spend any time, maintaining/securing/updating my Windows PC, it does it all automatically, it isn't very hard.
Macs are terrible for games, steam is a brilliant example for this, why does the OSX version need specs so much higher than the Windows version? My iMac under Windows plays the steam games fine, under OSX I can't play any of them. Not very fun at all.
And why bother building you own PC, Dell sells PCs which are fine for gaming very cheap, just get one of them.
1. Apple needs to work on their drivers and Mac OS X to optimize it for gaming. That's very obvious when you play the same game on the same machine in Windows and Mac OS X.
2. Apple doesn't offer a Mac that is attractive for gamers. Gamers need a high end graphic cards and those consume power and generate a lot of heat. Now since Apple tries to build very small and slim computers, it is natural that their options for graphic cards are very limited.
That said, I don't think it is that big of a problem. I personally used a PC (C2D 3 GHz, GF 8800 GT) solely for gaming and a MacBook hooked up to a shared 20" display to do everything else. Two months ago I sold both, put in another ?200,- and bought a 21,5" iMac (i3 3,2 GHZ, ATI 5670). The performance is about the same (faster in some games even) and while I can't play Crysis on maximum details, it's enough for 95 % of the games out there.